Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: Boston-Bruins

Any day now, possibly today, slick center Marc Savard is expected to sign his new contract with the Bruins, a seven-year extension beginning in 2010-11 with an average cap hit in the $4.5 million-$4.8 million range.

A source with direct knowledge of the negotiations, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the general terms of the deal and that the contract would be signed imminently.

continued and now those made-up rumors of Savard heading to Toronto can be put where they belong…

This Thanksgiving, the best story in Boston tells of hard work, perseverance, humility and courage. Patrice Bergeron is still just 24 years old, but he already seems to possess the experience and wisdom of a man twice his age.

“It’s behind me now and I can look forward,” Bergeron said yesterday by phone as the Bruins prepared for tonight’s game at Minnesota. “It’s been two long years and I’ve learned a lot. I guess everything happens for a reason.”

Everything happens for a reason. But does it really? Or do things sometimes happen purely as matter of chance, of luck both good and bad?

Marc Savard, a sometimes impatient patient, did what he was told. For bone strength, he diligently drank milk, although he sometimes opted for the chocolate variety, just to break up the moo-notony.

Once a day, he applied an electric bone stimulator, shooting silent and painless healing rays for 20 minutes into and around the fractured bone in his left foot that sidelined him last month.

“I don’t know if that helps, might be a gimmick, who knows?’’ offered the Bruins’ top center, who is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow night in St. Louis after a five-week absence. “All I know is, I’m ready to get back and I’m glad about that. It will be great to get back in there with the boys.’’

Meanwhile, things have been looking better for the battered Bruins, who got top winger Milan Lucic (fractured finger) back in the lineup Thursday and proceeded to win two straight games.

An Internet report this afternoon (yesterday) had No. 1 Bruins center Marc Savard poised to extend his deal for another seven seasons, beginning in 2010-‘11, worth a total possibly as high as $39 million (about a $5.6 million cap hit).

According to a source familiar with the ongoing contract talks, the signing is not imminent and the total payout is not likely to be as high as reported today.

Savard, who will turn 33 years old next July, is closing in on a seven-year pact worth closer to $32 million (cap hit: approximately $4.7 million).

A typical payout for this kind of deal, made popular by the Red Wings and Flyers, would see Savard pull in, say, all but $3-4 million over the first five years.

• Much like Milan Lucic in October, 32-year-old center Marc Savard later this month - most likely around Thanksgiving - is expected to extend his contract with the Bruins. At the end of a four-year deal that brought him $5 million a season, Savard is likely to average in the $6 million-$6.5 million range for another four or five seasons, bringing Boston’s payroll to upward of $49 million for next season…

• During a recent NHLPA conference call, superstar Alexander Ovechkin, with a cap figure of $9.538 million, groused about having to surrender the 12.9 percent escrow on last year’s pay. The same hit this season would see Ovie surrender $1.23 million. It’s his privilege to gripe. But that kind of giveback is about equal to the combined gross pay of Vladimir Sobotka and Byron Bitz. As on the ice, sometimes it’s best just to take the hit and shut up.

The agent for star center Marc Savard says contract talks continue with the Boston Bruins, but time is also becoming of the essence.

“We continue to discuss regularly,” agent Larry Kelly told ESPN.com Monday night at the Hockey Hall of Fame. “Both sides are interested in getting something done. But obviously there are issues we are working through.”

The longer it takes, the closer Savard gets to July 1, when he would become an unrestricted free agent. It’s clear from what Kelly said that the clock is ticking.

much more from the HHOF inductions as Pierre and Scott made the rounds at the event…

This was supposed to be the season that the Bruins lifted themselves squarely back into the discussion with the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. They were coming off a season in which they led the Eastern Conference in points and won a playoff series for the first time since 1999, sweeping Les Canadiens last spring before losing in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

It was something to build on and hope that Boston could be the Hub of Hockey again.

Instead, 15 games into 2009-10 it looks like the same old Black and Gold, except their scoring touch has gone ice cold.

After David Krejci agreed to a three-year, $11.25 million extension June 2, the sentiment around the league was that the Bruins had gotten themselves a bargain.

The slippery Krejci was coming off a 22-51 -73 season that saw him serve as a potent No. 2 center behind Marc Savard. At times, he was so sublime that the club could project him as the eventual No. 1 center, which would give the Bruins the option to cut ties with Savard after this season.

Right now, neither scenario looks likely.

Fourteen games into a deflating 2009-10 season, Krejci has one goal and four assists. He has recorded one multi-point game (two assists against Colorado). Savard, out the last seven games because of a broken left foot, looks assured of earning a Black-and-Gold extension - a league source said the center is seeking a five-year deal - given how poorly the offense has performed without its best playmaker.